Ad tech rebuilt itself around identity resolution and clean rooms once third-party cookies disappeared. Coverage here spans SSAI, programmatic CTV, ad-supported tier economics, frequency capping, and the measurement approaches replacing the old playbook.
Amazon has updated its Responsive eCommerce Creative tool with new rich media layouts, in-banner video, and Alexa-powered interactive prompts. The platform now supports dynamic ad assembly across Amazon and third-party sites, with internal data showing a 14% increase in click-through rates.
This article explains how viewable ad fraud exploits measurement gaps to inflate impression reporting by manipulating visibility metrics. It advises industry professionals to implement layered verification and treat viewability as a single signal rather than a definitive proof of value.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is expanding its Aquila cross-media measurement service to include display, audio, and other digital formats beyond its current video-centric scope. The platform, which utilizes a virtual ID methodology and data from partners like Meta and Google, aims to provide a unified view of reach and frequency for marketers.
Dataseat's Matilda Lindström discusses the shift of Connected TV (CTV) from a brand-awareness channel to a performance-based mobile user acquisition channel. The interview highlights the importance of aligning attribution settings in Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) and overcoming organizational silos between brand and mobile marketing teams to successfully measure CTV conversions.
Cleeng has launched a seasonal subscription feature designed to align billing cycles with sports calendars and enable automatic renewal. The tool aims to reduce off-season churn by eliminating the need for annual re-acquisition campaigns and supporting dynamic pricing models.
Ad operations platform XR has integrated with Kinetiq Political Insights to provide political campaigns with real-time access to competitive ad spend, creative intelligence, and delivery data. The partnership allows agencies to monitor and adjust media plans and messaging across local and national channels while campaigns are active.
Audiohook has acquired podcast intelligence platform Podscan to integrate its automated brand-mention and sentiment analysis capabilities into its existing advertising technology stack. The company plans to offer much of the platform's data for free to increase transparency for advertisers and publishers.
A study from Yahoo DSP indicates that US advertisers are shifting holiday campaign launches earlier in the year and increasing budgets, with a significant focus on CTV and social media channels. The research highlights that 58% of advertisers plan to boost CTV spending, driven by consumer demand for budget-friendly messaging and promotional deals.
An analysis of 88,000 Meta video ads by marketing firm Billo indicates that B2B advertisements achieved a 28.7 percent hook rate, outperforming most consumer categories. The findings suggest that B2B brands effectively capture viewer attention by prioritizing problem-focused messaging over traditional product-centric visuals.
The UK digital advertising market grew 13% to £21.2 billion in the first half of 2026, with video and TV+ formats showing significant growth. The report highlights that programmatic trading now accounts for 81% of the market, while advertisers continue to prioritize accountability and measurement amid economic uncertainty.
Roblox is expanding its advertising platform by integrating programmatic buying through partners like Google and Amazon DSP and testing skippable pre-roll video ads. These initiatives aim to standardize gaming inventory measurement to help brands integrate Roblox into traditional media plans with verifiable ROI.
Universal Ads has launched Creator Studio and introduced creator-led content inventory to its platform to help brands adapt social-first creator strategies for the CTV environment. The initiative aims to provide a self-service, programmatic-style buying experience for creator-produced commercials and long-form programming on television.
Broadcasters are shifting from a rigid fall-only pilot season to a year-round, hybrid distribution model that balances linear and CTV impressions. This transition necessitates that advertisers adopt more flexible, cross-platform media planning strategies to account for non-traditional release windows.
Telekom Slovenije has deployed Synamedia Iris to enable local ad insertion on international linear channels like AMC and BBC. The solution allows the operator to monetize previously unavailable ad inventory without requiring changes to existing set-top box infrastructure.
Reddit has integrated Zefr’s brand suitability technology into its advertising stack to provide advertisers with improved campaign measurement and targeting insights. This partnership expands Reddit's existing brand safety offerings alongside previous integrations with Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify.
Christoph Berg, managing director of MINT Square, discusses the challenges independent agencies face in navigating the complex programmatic advertising ecosystem. He advocates for the adoption of flexible, managed support structures to help these agencies access premium inventory in channels like CTV and retail media without the burden of direct platform contracts.
EDO released its third annual Spanish-Language TV Outcomes Report, claiming that Spanish-language ads generated 47% more impact than English-language ads over the past year. The report highlights the effectiveness of scripted entertainment, news, and sports programming, specifically noting the performance of hydration-break sponsorships during the World Cup.
The article argues that while Marketing Mix Models (MMMs) are essential for evaluating CTV performance beyond last-click attribution, they lack the granularity to explain specific campaign outcomes. It recommends using MMMs as high-level calibration tools while employing deeper diagnostic data to analyze network, audience, and creative variables.
VideoWeek has published its CTV Advertising Guide Europe 2027, providing an overview of the current market landscape, measurement challenges, and ad-tech trends. The report includes insights from major broadcasters and platforms, alongside data from IAB Europe and EMARKETER.
Warner Bros. Discovery is integrating its advertising sales technology with Mediaocean's Prisma Direct workflow to automate direct media transactions. The integration begins with a connection to WBD's Neo self-service platform, with plans for a more comprehensive system-to-system link for ordering, trafficking, and reconciliation.
TeqBlaze outlines five operational challenges for scaling programmatic advertising platforms globally, including cross-region latency, fragmented privacy regulations, and multi-currency billing. The article emphasizes that these factors require architectural planning for infrastructure and compliance before international expansion to ensure platform reliability.
Spotify's ad-supported revenue growth remains stagnant despite significant increases in its monthly active user base, with premium subscriptions continuing to account for 90% of total revenue. Analysts suggest the platform struggles to monetize audio inventory effectively compared to host-read podcast ads, highlighting a broader industry challenge in audio advertising valuation.
As generative AI increases the volume of digital video ad variations, engineering experts warn that testing and validation have become a significant operational bottleneck. Industry veteran Kiran Kumar Manku advocates for the implementation of standardized configuration frameworks to manage ad testing at scale and prevent production backlogs.
Jumio has completed the global rollout of its selfie.DONE reusable identity solution by expanding into the EMEA region. The platform uses biometric-first authentication to allow users to bypass repetitive document scans, aiming to improve verification completion rates by up to 20% while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Raptive has launched a free, ad-supported community platform designed to help creators build direct audience relationships and monetize through a 50/50 revenue share. The platform leverages Raptive's existing programmatic advertising infrastructure to provide an alternative to subscription-based models and volatile social media algorithms.
CreatorCore is a platform designed to manage influencer marketing campaigns, offering features like automated reporting, content approvals, and creator payouts. The software is currently used by major entertainment entities including Warner Music Group, Paramount Pictures, and Universal Music Group to streamline creator-focused workflows.
DoubleVerify executive Stephanie Posner has been named a 2026 AdExchanger Top Woman in Media & Ad Tech for her leadership in developing AI-powered brand suitability and content classification standards. Her work includes the development of the company's AI SlopStopper tool and initiatives to improve brand safety for advertisers navigating generative AI content.
Amazon Ads announced the winners of its 2026 Partner Awards at the unBoxed conference, recognizing agencies and technology partners for innovative advertising campaigns. The awards highlighted advancements in full-funnel strategies, programmatic optimization, and AI-driven life-cycle intelligence.
Former Paramount executive Dan Cohen has joined film studio Black Bear to lead TV distribution and oversee the launch of Black Bear Digital Networks. The new unit aims to monetize content across FAST and AVoD platforms using programmatic advertising.
A report from Peer39 highlights that CTV brand safety tools are frequently ineffective due to missing or incomplete metadata in bid requests. The analysis found that current web-based verification methods struggle to accurately classify CTV content, leaving advertisers unable to verify the safety of their placements.
A new report from FreeWheel indicates that Connected TV (CTV) now accounts for 53% of premium video ad views in Europe, with programmatic ad views across the region growing 44% year-over-year. The data highlights a significant shift toward live programming and increased adoption of automated buying by advertisers.
Jomboy Media is scaling its creator-led sports content model through a strategic partnership with MLB that grants full editorial access and IP rights. The company is shifting its sponsorship strategy from transactional ad placements to full-season partnerships that mirror traditional league-level media deals.
OpenAI has introduced Sponsored Agents and custom audience targeting to its ChatGPT advertising platform as part of its strategy to reach $100 billion in ad revenue by 2030. While the company emphasizes the value of engagement insights for publishers, the move highlights ongoing industry tension regarding AI-driven traffic declines and publisher monetization.
Amazon Ads has launched Sponsored Services, an AI-driven ad format that integrates Yelp local service listings directly into Amazon's product detail, order confirmation, and tracking pages. The feature aims to convert purchase intent into local service bookings by contextually matching products with relevant professional services.
Channel Factory has expanded its IQ Series platform to provide video-level content classification and brand suitability standards for premium Connected TV (CTV) inventory. The technology aims to shift CTV advertising strategies from audience-based targeting to contextual signals, reducing reliance on individual-level identifiers.
Starling has launched a new supply-side platform (SSP) for connected TV, aiming to improve transparency and audience signal quality for advertisers and publishers. The company is backed by MBL Partners and has announced an initial partnership with publisher Xumo.
Apple's iOS 27 update has blocked The Trade Desk's core ad serving domain, adsrvr.org, effectively preventing the DSP from serving ads on the Safari browser. The issue is currently under investigation by Apple's WebKit team, with no confirmed resolution or timeline for a fix.
MNTN executive Matt Collins reports that 83% of AI-generated search results result in zero clicks, leading performance marketers to shift budgets toward connected TV. The shift highlights a growing industry trend of prioritizing measurable, trust-based advertising channels as AI search disrupts traditional conversion funnels.
The article argues that the television industry should develop addressability strategies based on its unique medium-specific strengths rather than simply adopting digital performance infrastructure. It emphasizes leveraging reach, content context, and the lean-back viewing experience to create future demand instead of focusing solely on identifying existing buyers.
Amazon has launched Complete TV within its DSP, a new campaign type designed to help US advertisers manage upfront commitments and scatter budgets for streaming TV inventory. The tool provides automated ad group generation, real-time performance insights, and cross-platform reach optimization.
Chartbeat reports a 36% year-over-year decline in Google search referrals, driving publishers to prioritize direct and internal traffic sources. Concurrently, data from Tubular Labs indicates a shift in audience consumption on YouTube, where short-form video content has surpassed long-form viewership.
Research from audience intelligence firm NumberEight suggests that traditional IP-based and household-level identifiers are increasingly inaccurate for demographic targeting in fragmented media environments like CTV and mobile gaming. The study advocates for a shift toward ID-less, contextual, and behavioral modeling to improve audience precision without relying on persistent identifiers.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has raised its 2026 US advertising growth forecast to 12.3 percent, driven by strong performance in social media and connected TV. The report highlights that advertisers are increasingly prioritizing AI-driven product discovery and adapting measurement strategies to account for AI agents.
Meta is advising advertisers to diversify creative assets to improve ad ranking, as its recommendation models increasingly penalize repetitive content. The company is also testing new creative performance metrics within its Insights API to provide agencies with more granular data on ad effectiveness.
Google has integrated vertical video ad buying and measurement into its Display & Video 360 platform, utilizing Gemini AI to centralize campaign management across multiple channels. The update allows advertisers to upload vertical assets once for programmatic distribution and provides unified, full-funnel measurement across the Google advertising ecosystem.
Viant Technology has expanded its Direct Access supply path optimization product to support private marketplace and programmatic guaranteed CTV deals. The update aims to reduce transaction costs and increase working media for advertisers by enabling fee-free deal execution across major publishers.
This article outlines the technical requirements for programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) advertising, including the integration of SSPs, CMS platforms, and player logic. It highlights the shift toward automated auctions and the necessity for specialized ad-serving stacks to manage physical screen constraints and proof-of-play reconciliation.
Google Consent Mode v2 is a mandatory framework for advertisers to pass user consent signals to Google services for EEA, UK, and Swiss users. The system uses AI-driven conversion modeling to estimate data for users who decline tracking, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations while maintaining ad performance metrics.
Top-tier creators are increasingly adopting media company structures to professionalize operations and capture premium TV advertising budgets. This shift involves cross-platform IP development and the adoption of traditional media buying frameworks to compete directly with broadcast television.
Firsthand has partnered with IGN to integrate the publisher's IMAGINE audience intelligence platform into its adaptive ad units. This integration enables brands to deliver real-time, contextually relevant ad experiences based on user behavior rather than static demographic targeting.
James Varndell · Bitmovin
